An Italian-qualified lawyer (avvocato) with experience in copyright, trade marks, fashion and internet laws, I am a tenured Associate Professor in Intellectual Property (IP) Law at Stockholm University.

I comment on IP issues for award-winning IP blogs The IPKat and The 1709 Blog, for which I have authored several hundreds of posts over the past few years.

I have prepared technical briefings and delivered talks at the request of international organizations and EU institutions and agencies (including WIPO, European Parliament, European Commission, and EUIPO), as well as international professional bodies and organizations (including ALAI, INTA, AIPPI, LIDC, and ECTA).

What has been the role and vision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in shaping EU copyright law? What impact and legacy does relevant case law have?

This title focuses specifically on the role, action, and legacy of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the field of copyright, also by providing an exclusive survey that covers two decades (1998 - 2018) of CJEU decisions in this area of the law.

The main objective of this work is providing readers with a sense of direction of EU copyright case law. In order to achieve this, an attempt of 'tidying up' and rationalizing existing rulings is carried out.

The book consists of three parts.

The first part explores the role of the CJEU in copyright cases. Besides outlining the history of EU copyright harmonization and providing statistical data concerning the Court's activity, it extracts the key standards employed in copyright case law, explains their meaning and significance, and carries out a novel statistical analysis aimed at mapping relations between the various standards.

Following a discussion of the impact of CJEU interpretation of certain EU copyright provisions (notably their preemptive force on individual EU Member States' freedom), the second part is concerned with CJEU action (and vision) in respect of three key areas of copyright: the construction of economic rights; exceptions and limitations; and enforcement.

The final part focuses on CJEU legacy broadly intended. It tackles two distinct perspectives, these being the effect on national copyright laws and the current policy discourse around EU copyright reform. As regards the former, the book discusses the default consequences of the departure of a certain Member State from the EU. In relation to the latter, attention is focused on a number of selected areas, which require to be considered in light, not just of existing legislation, but also - and perhaps most importantly - existing case law.

The book also contains a foreword by Maciej Szpunar(First Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union).

This extremely profound analysis by Professor Rosati of EU copyright protection and relevant CJEU decisions constitutes uncharted territory, unveiling new information, perhaps never considered, even by members of the Court like myself. Professor Rosati’s book addresses, from an original and forward-thinking perspective, some of the most complex, challenging, and pressing aspects of the EU copyright framework. I am certain that the book will contribute to an awareness of the many challenges facing copyright protection, both on the EU and global level, as well as the importance of EU law and the Court of Justice.

- Maciej Szpunar, First Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the EU

In this systematic, statistically informed, account of the decisions of the CJEU in the field of copyright, Eleonora Rosati analyses the Court's central role in deepening harmonization of copyright law in the EU and lays bare the reasoning that underpins that approach.

Eleonora Rosati is a very gifted scholar with a unique ability to synthesize diverse, complex concepts into easy to understand English. No where is such skill more necessary than in figuring out the CJEU's baffling jurisprudence. This book is a must for everyone.

This volume is the product of the happy conjunction of penetrating scholarship, a meticulous eye for detail, prodigious enthusiasm and unbounded energy. Dr Rosati should be congratulated for her valuable and timely contribution to European copyright literature.

- Jeremy Phillips, Founder of The IPKat and the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice (OUP)

In this thought-provoking book, Eleonora Rosati elegantly unfolds the fil rouge underlying the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law in the field of copyright, with a view of painting the CJEU vision and comparing it with those of other EU institutions, in particular the European Commission. The message is clear from the first chapter in which 98 decisions are meticulously dissected using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods: consensus is easier to obtain when the interpretation put forward favours authors and copyright holders. This analytical therapy of the CJEU case law conducted with high academic rigour and love (or should I say empathy) is a must-read for anyone with an interest in EU harmonisation, policy making and copyright.

- Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon, Professor of Information Technology Law and Data Governance, University of Southampton

My book explores the recent past of copyright harmonization in the European Union (EU), analyzes the increasingly topical role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in harmonizing core aspects of the copyright laws of Member States, and attempts to predict the future of EU copyright.

Reviews include:

Trevor Cook (WilmerHale), who described my monograph as “guid[ing] us expertly through the controversial area of originality, a concept which lies at the very foundation of copyright law, but which has never before been analysed in any depth as a topic in its own right.”

Professor Jeremy Phillips (Queen Mary, University of London), who highlighted that: “If nothing else, this book should be compulsory reading for the judges belonging to the CJEU, so that they can see what they've done. It will also be compulsive reading for lovers of certain basic copyright concepts and who want to know what "originality" really means.”

Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor (Richmond Green Chambers), who noted: “Meticulously and extensively footnoted (a boon to researchers) this book explores virtually all aspects of originality in EU copyright, including insights into the way the legal understanding of this concept has changed over time and may well change further in the direction of evolving a truly harmonized EU copyright law, however feasible and/or desirable that may be.”

Catherine Pocock (Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property) who wrote: "In providing a clear explanation of the decisions and their interpretations, this contribution stands out as an excellent tool for understanding EU harmonization of copyright amidst an academic debated on whether and how this harmonization should occur."

The Hon Mr Justice Richard Arnold (High Court of Justice of England and Wales), who stated: "As Rosati explains, the approach taken by the CJEU in its case law also has profound implications for current harmonisation projects such as the Wittem Group’s European Copyright Code and more generally for the future of EU copyright law. Any future legislation about protectable subject matter and the criteria for protection has to be framed with this case law in mind. Rosati has made a valuable contribution to the study of European copyright law."

Professor Philip Leith (Queen’s University of Belfast), whowrote: “Rosati’s text is both a readable and useful review of where we are in copyright at present, combined with a strong argument that we are on the ‘right road’. Her thesis is that copyright is in a mess due to the conflicting approaches in the various European jurisdictions; that a coherent structure should be imposed upon this; and that this is already being carried out by the judiciary at the CJEU. This text is a reworking of her PhD thesis, but the quality of writing is certainly above that of the typical dissertation.”

Irini Stamatoudi (Hellenic Copyright Organisation), whowrote: "The text has been well drafted and documented, the legal analysis is sound and competent and the author manages to provide useful insights into UK and US law. She also manages to put her subject in perspective, taking into account the inevitable policy issues, which, however, could be extended to what the actual role of the [Court of Justice of the European Union] is in the much-debated EU copyright harmonisation. I strongly recommend reading this book."

US Court Rules that Unlicensed Reproduction of NBA Players' Tattoos in Their Videogame Avatars is not a Copyright Infringement (2020) 15(5) JIPLP 318-319 (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Solid Oak Sketches, LLC v 2K Games, Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 16-CV-724-LTS-SDA, 26 March 2020)

Italian Court Rules against Dolce&Gabbana in a Case Concerning Unauthorized Use of Maradona’s Name on a Jersey (2020) 15(3) JIPLP 160 (Milan Court of First Instance, case 41088/2017, decision 11374/2019, 9 December 2019)

2019

CJEU Limits Scope of De-Referencing in Right to be Forgotten Cases to the EU Territory, but Leaves the Door Open for National Global Orders (2019) 23 Media & Arts Law Review 307-309 (Google LLC, successor in law to Google Inc. v Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL), C-507/17, EU:C:2019:772)

6/11/2019 - What Does the European Commission Make of the EU Copyright Acquis When It Pleads Before the CJEU? Observations in Digital & Online Cases, Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law, Stockholm (Sweden)

16/10/2019 - Liability is Coming: Recent Copyright Case Law and Its Effects on UUC Platforms, Central and Eastern European Music Publishers’ Congress (CEEMPC), Ljubljana (Slovenia)

7/10/2019 - The Liability of Online Platforms from a European Perspective (Case Law And The New Copyright Directive, ICC Turkey: Summit on the Role of Intellectual Property in Promoting Creativity and Innovation for a Strong and Competitive National Economy, Istanbul (Turkey)

14/3/2019 - AI in Europe: Is Copyright an Enabler or an Obstacle?, Can Robots Invent and Create? A Dialogue between Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property, University of Alicante, Alicante (Spain)

20/5/2018 - Copyright and Trademark: What They Can Learn From Each Other on the Internet Frontier of Trademark Protection (panellist), INTA 2018 - 140th Annual Meeting, Seattle (WA, USA)

19/5/2018 - The consequences of Brexit on the Rules of the Common Market (Exhaustion of Rights, Transit, Agreements…) (panellist), The Impact of Brexit on IP Law in the EU - CNCPI/CEIPI, Seattle (WA, USA)

10/4/2018 - Construction of EU Copyright in the Case Law of the Court of Justice: High Level of Protection in the Internal Market (Keynote), Software and Audiovisual Copyright. Significant Damage - Training Seminar for Judges, Prosecutors and Police, Riga (Latvia)

22/2/2018 - Text and Data Mining: How Is It Done and Can It Be Done?, Copyright Directive: Text and Data Mining (TDM) - Workshop for the Committee on Legal Affairs, European Parliament, Brussels (Belgium)

Eleonora has been recognized as “an influential voice in the IP industry"

The list recognizes individuals who are shaping IP law, policy and business throughout the world. It has typically included an array of in-house counsel, judges, officials and academics, as well as celebrities that have had a particularly big recent impact on IP.

Recent Media Coverage

15/4/2020 - Politico (on the state of EU copyright one year after the adoption of Directive 2019/790)